Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1887-02-18
AGRICULTURAL NOTES,
A Column Devoted to the Interests Of Farmers
and st6ckmen.


establishing hop ranch.
Potatoes marketed Immediately
after digging at 40 cents will give
more profit than if held over until
spring and sold at so cents.
Joseph Watt, of Amity, Oregon,
sold his apples on the trees, and when
they were accounted for it was found
that the orchard paid him over 800
per acre.
1t is authoritatively stated that the
aggregate expectation of Indian corn
and meal since the beginning of our
commerce does not equal the corn pro-
duct of the United States for this
year.
A putrid carcass polluting the air of
pasture will spoil not only the milk
of the COWS running there, but also
the entire contents of the vat into
which the tainted milk is poured at
the factory.
Most of the experiments made in
feeding swine with cooked and raw
food have not shown sufficient differ
ence in favor of the former to pay for
the extra labor required, which in
some cases better results have been
obtained from feeding raw corn meal
than that which has been cooked.
Mulching is done by placing
layer of coarse manure from three TO
six inches deep, extending one or two
feet further in each direction than the
roots. This protects the earth about
the roots against drying or baking with
the wind and sun, retains to it the re-
quisite moisture, and obviates all oc-
casion for a practice, generally of in
furious effect-the watering of newly
planted trees.
1t is asserted that the number of
sheep is diminishing in Europe. This
is attributed to more land being
brought into arabic cultivation and
cropped with roots and forage plants.
But the total amount of meat and
wool does not appear to have de-
creased. These observations apply es-
pecially to France since thirty years
There has been augmented consump-
ton, but then also the population has
increased
Roses should be planted in a deep,
rich, well-drained soil, so that the top
roots are not less than two inches be-
low the surface, and should be severely
pruned every spring before the buds
start, cutting back on the last growth
to three or four buds, except climbing
roses, which may first be allowed to
partly cover the space desired. Old
decayed branches should never re-
main. Every autumn compost should
be placed around the stems of the
plants, and spaded into the ground the
following spring.
When a new mich COW has her calf
taken from her she will often hold up
her milk, apparently for the purpose
of saving it for her offspring. 1t will
require kindness and patience to over
come this habit. The operation of
milking is pleasant to the animal, and
if she is given a mess of warm slops
while being MIXED her attention will
be so diverted that she will yield with
out remembering her calf. 1t is i'm
portant to milk clean from the first, as
retention of milk in the udder Injuries
it and tends to decrease the yield.
In France butter is packed in bags
not more than three inches in diane
ter for family use, not more than two
inches for restaurants. Each bag
holds two pounds, and when filled
they are tied and packed In brine, in
tubs or casks which can be headed
Il, l>n 70
free from lint and should be very
slightly starched-iust enough to
make them iron smoothly-then run
together of uniform size. The bag
should be placed in mold of suitable
size and shape while being filled.
The great secret of keeping apples
through the winter is to store them in
a well-ventilated room or cellar that is
kept as near the freezing point as
possible without actually freezing the
apples. Apples and potatoes should
never be kept in the same cellar, or if
this is unavoidable, the potatoes
should be kept in the warmest part of
the cellar, and the barrels of apples,
we'll headed up, near the windows,
where, on days Wnen the alt outslde
is only few degrees above freezing,
they can be treated to a cold breeze
from the open windows, while, at the
same time, the atmosphere In the
part of the cellar where the potatoes
are kept does not fall below forty de-
grees. With thermometer in the
cellar it is quite possible to cool Oft
the apples without injuring the pota-
toes. Do not unhead the barrels until
the apples are wanted. 1t is rarely a
good plan to sort over the apples to
pick out the rotten ones. Better let
them remain undisturbed. Apples in
ripening give off carbonic acid, which
cannot be allowed to accumulate in the
house cellar, but must be removed by
ventilation. This deleterious gas, car
bonic acid, aids in preserving the
fruit, and it is one of the advantages